Keys to Running a Successful Blog & 25 Australian Business Blogs

Australiaâ€™s 25 top business blogs

The keys to running a successful blog

Be authentic: Most bloggers talk about needing a combination of knowledge, passion and genuine interest in helping their audience as being crucial to both building and retaining that audience and assisting their own motivation.

Update it regularly: There is debate among bloggers about how often is often enough, but most agree that weekly blogging is essential for growing and retaining an audience.

Have an opinion: Thousands of blogs are simply rehashes of stuff that other people have already blogged. It is important to bring something new, such as analytical insight and opinion, lest readers just move past you to the source of your material.

Build a community: Invite feedback and respond personally when appropriate. Visitors are more likely to come back if they feel they are personally invested in the blog and the discussions that it fosters.

Spread the word: Use Twitter to tell your followers every time you update a blog post, and be sure to provide comments and links to similar blogs to broaden your audience.

25 Australian business blogs to watch

22michaels: Business blog that accompanies the online shoe retailer Shoes of Prey, which discusses the development and lessons learned for the start-up business.

acidlabs: Stephen ‘@trib’ Collins blog on the interconnection of government and technology which has been published since 2007.

Adspace pioneers: Blog on social media and marketing by Julian Cole, now a digital strategist with Sydney social media and digital content agency The Conscience Organisation.

Aussie Rules: Phil Dobbie and Robert Gerrish blog on a wide range of topics relating to business and society in Australia using text, podcasts and video.

Bluewire Media Group: Business blog oriented to digital media content, social media and entrepreneurial business strategy.

Catalyst for Magic: Annalie Killian of AMP’s personal blog on social media and society in general.

Delimiter: A hybrid blog/publisher/news service and reporting on issues relating to the Australian technology industry.

Deloitte Digital Blog: CEO peter Williams and team members blog about the work of their organisation and its partners.

Digital Buzz Blog: Blog dedicated to the latest happenings in digital media internationally, which receives more than 120,000 unique visitors each month.

Ideas Culture: Yvonne Adele discusses innovation and how to develop good ideas for business.

Just Creative Design: One of many design-oriented blots in Australia today, Jacob Cass’ blog charts his journey from Sydney to New York City and his passion for design and creativity.

Michael Specht: Since June 2006 Spect has blogged on topics relating to human resources and social technology and the application within Australian business.

Mr MiniMovers: Entrepreneurs and business blog written by Mike O’Hagan, founder and owner of MiniMovers, a company he grew from $200 and a ute to turnover of more than $30 million and 400 employees.

mUmBRELLA: More of a publisher now than a blog, mUmBRELLA is a popular online source of news relating to Australia’s marketing and advertising industries created by former B&T editor Tim Burrowes.

New Retail Blog: One of many retail-oriented blogs that have appeared, this one written by Jon Bird and Matt Newell of retail marketing consultancy IdeaWorks covers global as well as local retailing news and events.

Pollenizer: Created in 2008 to support this technology incubation, development and investment organisation, the blog has become a focal point for the leading edge of Australia’s technology development community.

Telstra Exchange: Started originally as Now We Are Talking as a means to bypass the press and reach consumers directly, these days Telstra Exchange provides Telstra with another platform for reaching out to customers through the words of their staff, while providing a platform for discussion about the future of communications.

Trends in Living Networks: Futurist Ross Dawson’s comprehensive explorations of social media and its impact on both business and society.

The Pursuit of Luck: Jason Bresnehan, a business consultant and corporate advisor who lives in Tasmania, writes a fascinating blog that discusses and analyses how you can create luck in business and life.